Potty Talk & Pumpkins

I think I am going to throw in the towel and just start to buy Depends for Emerson! I don't think she'll ever be potty trained! Strong willed child + potty training = frustrated Mommy!!! We started training Emerson over a year ago when we moved into the apartment while our new house was being built. I figured I didn't care if she peed on their carpet! Then she was sick for a couple of week, which put things on hold. Then shortly after that, I got put on bedrest which meant potty training was being put off until a later date. After Camryn arrived, we figured we would give Emerson some time to get acclaimated to all the new changes and when summer came, we'd give it a shot again. We tried everything.....putting her in panties so she could feel herself get wet, get stickers on the potty chart and get to go to a park, Potty Pennies (get a penny for going pee-pee and two pennies for going poo in the potty), bribing with candy, TV, the computer.....you name it, we tried it. Finally the pediatrician said to put the diapers back on her and enjoy what was left of the summer. Well, she's now 3 and in my mind, it's about time. She knows how to do it and CAN do it, but she just chooses not to. After 4 wet panties/pants today, I had HAD IT! The diapers were going back on. She really wants to go to school, which we could do a second semester preschool starting in January, but if she doesn't get out of those darn diapers, she's going to be home FOREVER! I'm not prepared to homeschool! AAGGHHHHH! I know it is totally a control thing and they will do it in their own time, but it's just getting old. Okay, I digress. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

On to more exciting things......we went and picked out pumpkins tonight. Emerson had a great time. She wanted one of everything they had. So with 4 of us being in the house, we of course had to get 10 pumpkins!! I'm lucky we only walked away with 10....Emerson kept putting up more and more and more on the table. Here are a couple of pictures of Emerson and the pumpkins. Thanks for looking and thanks again for letting me vent about the potty issue.

HELP!! I can't stop!!!

I'm making up for lost time from being on bedrest! I didn't get to go shopping for months and no I am making up! I was at Michael's the other day and couldn't stop myself when I walked past the $1 bins. I went there to get 1 thing and walked away with two bags full of stuff! I think I need a recovery group or something......wait! Who am I kidding? I don't want to stop!

I picked up lots of those $1 clear acryclic stamp sets and some acrylic blocks to go with them. I think I picked up one of each of their sets, which means I picked up 8-10 of the sets! I even got some duplicates, so maybe I'll be giving them away in the future for some "candy".....Maybe when I hit the 1,000 mark!

I hope to get back into the craft room soon and create with some of my Michael's goodies! Thanks for looking and enjoy this beautiful weather!

Lions, Tigers & Bears, Oh My!......and Giraffes!

We went to the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan recently.....the zoo in Grand Rapids just isn't up to par lately. Anyway, they had this huge Safari exhibit. It was absolutely beautiful. The animals were so amazing! Here are so great shots of the giraffes. They were all lined up in a row waiting to get some biscuits from people. We bought a biscuit for Emerson to feed them, but when she saw their long tongues go through the net, she said "No way!!" I just thought this picture was too cool not to share! Thanks for looking!

Christmas Gifts

These are some tiles that I have made for a friend of mine. She came over to my house and went Christmas shopping in my craft room!!! She picked out all sorts of goodies for me to make for her to give as gifts for Christmas. Here are some tiles that she picked out for herself to go in her new family room. I made 8 coasters total, but here are just a sample of a few of them. She choose the same picture for all the tiles, but wanted them in different colors along with different sayings.

There are some great tutorials on SCS to do these tiles. I stamped on them with StazOn, baked them at 325 degrees for 15 minutes and once they cooled put a thin coat of sealant over them. I didn't really need to do ALL of those steps...I could have just baked them or just sealed them but I wanted to make SURE that the ink wouldn't run after they were used. TFL!

Added: I already had this all typed up to post but wanted to add a few notes. I've had several people from SCS email me regarding questions for the tiles.

TILES: I purchased them at Lowe's. You can get them at any home improvement place near you. The ones I got were 4x4 unglazed tumbled marble. 9 came in a box for $5.38, so they are about $0.60 each. I had to go through several boxes so I could pick out the good ones for stamping on. Some have really big "craters" in them and I didn't prefer those for stamping on.

INK: There are several options. For those tiles, I used StazOn ink. It's a permanent ink for non-porous surfaces. I've done other tiles where I stamped the image in black StazOn and then colored the image in with blender pens, by dipping it into a regular Stampin' Up! ink pad. You can also dab your blender pen into chalk, or color in with SU! markers, Sharpie Markers, etc.

SEALANT: I probably over did it, but I chose to bake them and then seal them with an acrylic sealant. When baking them, I did it for 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Once they have cooled, I put a thin coat of DecoArt Multi-Purpose sealer on them with a foam brush. You could also put a light coat of spray over them. (one coat or two, whatever your preference is) I have also used Plaid Clear Acrylic Sealer (matte). Make sure to spray at a distance. You just want to do a light coat. If you get too close, the pressure of the spray could smear your ink (that happened to me, so I had to start over with that tile!)

BACK OF TILES: I used small felt circles that I purchased at the dollar store. Some people prefer to put a 4x4 square cork on the back and adhering it with E6000 or Crystal Effects (or any type of strong adhesive). Also, if you are going to sell these at a craft show, don't forget to stamp the back of the tile (or cork) with an SU! Angel stamp.

PACKAGING: I usually wrap a pretty ribbon, taffeta, twine, etc. around them like you would tie up gift. That way people can see what they are getting, yet they look a little more finished with the ribbon.

Now, get out there and start creating! I'd love to see what you come up with! You can email me a picture of your tiles directly or leave a comment on this post and leave a link to your blog or SCS gallery so I can check them out! Thanks!




Supplies: Stamps-All SU!, All I Have Seen, Wonderful Words; Tiles-unglazed tumbled tiles from Lowes; Ink-All Stazon-Purple, Green, Brown; multi-purpose sealer

Acrylic Post-It Note Holders

Here are some more of the goodies that I have been making for a friend of mine. She ordered 7 post-it note holders to give to special ladies in her life. The initials correlate with their first names. Here are 6 of the 7 that I made. They are really quite easy to make. Some people have asked me what to do when the post-it notes are gone or when 2009 rolls around. Well, the post-it notes and calendar were attached with double sided red sticky tape. Since the last page is attached, just attach the new post-it note pad or calendar on top of the last page. Not perfect, but it does work. I really couldn't figure out a better way. Any suggestions out there???

Supplies: Paper-DCWV stacks, All My Memories, SU!-Blue Bayou, Pixie Pink, River Rock; Accessories: chipboard letters, Cuttlebug Olivia alphabet; SU!'s 1 3/8 & 1 1/4 circle punches, acrylic 4x6 frame, post-it notes, mini calendar.
Supplies: Paper-Flair Designs, SU!-Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla, DCWV stacks; Ink: Craft Old Olive; Stamps: Canvas Background; Accessories: acrylic 4x6 frame, post-it notes, mini calendar, Super Oval Punch, chipboard letters, Cuttlebug Olivia Alphabet.

Supplies: Paper-Flair Designs, SU! Close to Cocoa, DCWV Stacks; Accessories: acrylic 4x6 frame, post-it notes, mini calendar, chipboard letters, Cuttlebug Olivia Alphabet, SU!'s 1 3/8 & 1 1/4 circle punches.

Altered Notebook

Here is an altered notebook that I made for myself. With a new baby and working part-time, I can't seem to remember anything! I have lists and sticky notes all over the place and can never seem to find the one I need when I need it! So, to try and solve the problem, I created this notebook for me.....a one stop shop :) You can see on the second picture that I have tabs created for the main things...my "To-Do" list, the "Budget", and don't forget the "Crafts"!

I picked up the DP from my local craft store on their clearance rack. You can't tell from the picture, but on top of the big flowers, it looks like Crystal Effects is all over it......it's raised and sparkly. I got the composition book from Target on their clearance shelves for $0.12! How could I pass that up?? I couldn't, so I grabbed 10 of them! I jazzed it up a bit with Prima flowers and the bling is SU!'s round rhinestones in green. I letters are from SU!'s Doodle Alphabet and the swirls are from the Doodle This stamp set.

I enjoyed making this, so I'm sure I'll be making more since I have 9 more in my stash! Thanks for looking. Enjoy your evening!

Supplies: Paper: DP-Cloud 9 Design, SU!'s Purely Pomegranate, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Whisper White; Stamps: All SU!-Doodle Alphabet, Doodle This; Accessories: Prima Flowers, SU! round rhinestone, ribbon from Michael's; Ink: Black StazOn, Craft Old Olive, SU! Markers-Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Baroque Burguncy, So Saffron

Happy 3rd Birthday, Emerson!

WOW!! We finally have all of Emerson's birthday parties out of the way! When you have a big family, not everyone fits in the house all at the same time, so we divided it up into 3 separate family parties and then another parties with just her little friends. Next year, I'm going to rent a hall if I have to....4 parties is way too much!!! Anyway, here is the card that I made for her. I only did a 4 1/4 by 4 1/4 card because I had about 10 minutes to do the card before dinner was ready. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! I'm just diggin' this cute little ballerina stamp and saying from Hambo stamps. It just fit Emerson perfectly.....she wears her little ballerina tutu all the time....she even wore it to the grocery store last weekend while wearing her pajamas! If you ever need a conversation starter, we've got one you can borrow!

Here is Emerson after she opened her new baby stroller/jogger from Mommy, Daddy & Camryn. In less than a year, she wore out her other baby stroller so it was time for new one. I just can't believe how old she is getting. You really start to realize that when they can reason with you. The other night we tried to put her down a little early....because she needed the sleep...and she said, "I can't go to sleep yet...the moon isn't out." I was speechless. I didn't know how to respond. It's at that moment that you realize that they are too smart for their own good!

Thanks for looking and I hope to have more to share tomorrow.

Supplies: SU! Paper-Pixie Pink, Green Galore, Whisper White; DCWV Glitter Stack paper; Ink: Black StazOn, Pixie Pink Marker, Blush Blossom Marker, Creamy Caramel Marker; Accessories: Coluzzle, Giga Scalloped Round Punch, Jumbo Round Punch, Horizontal Slit Punch, Sparkle Ribbon, 1/16 Fiskars hand punch